Tag: Trader Joe’s

New x 2 from TJs- Tea and Dinner

Well, you know how it goes- when one person in the house falls ill the rest will soon follow. Like me. After running a few errands and before I started to feel too crummy, I picked up a couple of new-to-me items from Trader Joe’s.

My sore throat told me that tea would be a smart purchase. I love tea, all kinds- green, black, herbal, and mixes. If I’m going to be stuck with a scratchy pain in the neck I mighty as well try a new brew to break up my favorites- roasty genmai-cha , herbaceous mint, and perfumed Lady Grey.

A new tea and quick dinner...
A new tea and quick dinner…

I wanted something easy to throw in the oven for dinner, too, and The Boy always loves anything resembling a chicken nugget. A pot of rice and boiled edamame later, we had two new things to try: Organic Ginger Pear White Tea, and Tempura Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Verdicts:

The Tea
I don’t care for ginger, have never tried any white teas, and was suspicious of the word “flavored” in tiny print next to the word “pear” on the box. However, I loved this tea! Totally surprised me. The ginger was very mild, as was the tea (I think that is what white tea is known for) and the “pear” was subtle, too. Very good. I look forward to putting this tea into my rotation tomorrow as my dry throat annoys me.

The men laughed at these serving sizes...
The men laughed at these serving sizes…

The Chicken
Yep, the little nuggets are probably the same that you get in Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken. Which we love. Totally deep fried, battered, and I am there. This sauce was nothing special, a basic sweet and sour glaze. What killed us is the serving size- check it out, there are supposed to be seven servings! I piled the chicken into seven similar sized piles and the men of the house laughed at me. The Boy ended up eating two servings of everything… growing boy and all. I took one serving, wanted more, but honestly didn’t need any more. Boo. I hate to admit that I like to eat way too much food. Curse my love of eating!

My dinner- I wanted more but know that I need less. Boo!!!
My dinner- I wanted more but know that I need less. Boo!!!

Taste Test and Recipe: Chicken with Red Curry Sauce from Trader Joe’s with Homemade Hummus

I made most of my family try something new for dinner tonight that I was pretty sure that they would flat out refuse- a chicken curry sauce over rice. They have been relatively on board with me trying new things this year, pretty supportive overall, but are getting to the breaking point with the food experiments.


IMG_6565IMG_6566Tonight I made them try Trader Joe’s Chicken Breast Medallions with Coconut Red Curry Sauce. The photos all stink tonight, sorry… lost my mojo for the day, what can I say.

In a nutshell: The Boy gave the best performance of his life, feigning torture at the hands of his mother. His drama teacher for next year would have been so proud! Because this is mildly spicy, The Girl got a Get Out Of Tasting Free pass with her sore throat. Neither reaction from my kids surprised me, but here was the kicker: The Husband loved it. This guy does not care for Indian food. We have Indian friends and it kills me that he doesn’t like most of the home made foods we have been fortunate to share. He is always game to try it… he’s not an unmannered slob, for Pete’s sake, he just doesn’t enjoy the the spices. As for me, I liked it a lot. Great flavor, not to spicy (hot), super easy, the big chunks of chicken weren’t dry and tasted freshly made, and the stuff looked like the picture on the box- no food stylist magic was done by TJ’s.

As for this box of curry from Trader Joe’s fridge section, I know it isn’t authentic, but I’ve received a seal of approval from a friend who knows her Indian cuisine; she likes this ready-made dish, too. I served the curry over brown basmati rice (also from Trader Joe’s), with a side of peas, and hummus that I made this afternoon. Holy cow, that hummus was GOOD!

IMG_6567

Here’s the world’s easiest recipe for fabulous hummus:

Into the bowl of a food processor add the following:

-fresh squeezed juice from one lemon
-one clove garlic
-one 14 oz. can of chick peas drained, but reserve the juice from the can
-one tablespoon of tahini
-one tablespoon good extra virgin olive oil.

Blend until smooth, this could take a while to get it good and smooth, and to get the hummus to the right consistency you will probably need to add some of the reserved juice from the can of chick peas- add a little at a time, you don’t want too much. Add salt to taste, also. You may want your hummus with more garlic, lemon, or tahini so adjust to your tastes.

This is kick-butt-good because it uses fresh garlic, fresh lemons, good extra virgin olive oil and real tahini. If you substitute any of these with something that isn’t fresh, it won’t be nearly as good. And you will be cursed in the kitchen. And you will stub your toe and get a paper cut. Really.

Trader Joe's Chicken with Coconut Red Curry Sauce, served with Brown Basmati Rice
Trader Joe’s Chicken with Coconut Red Curry Sauce, served with Brown Basmati Rice

Orange Chicken Showdown

Left, Crazy Cuisine from Costco; Right, Trader Joe's Orange Chicken... obviously...
Left, Crazy Cuisine from Costco; Right, Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken… duh…

You know how people say that store brands of a product are just the same national brand in plain packaging? Whatever. I just bought the Mandarin Orange Chicken from Costco’s freezer aisles completely on impulse even though I had some at home already from Trader Joe’s.

OK then, let’s see how close these dishes come to each other…
Squaring off tonight we have three versions of the same dinner-

Mandarin Chicken from Pick Up Stix take out, and frozen, ready to bake from Costco and Trader Joe’s.

All three had something big going for them in that they are all fried. Let’s face it, if it is fried, I’m there. You could fry a dirt clod and I would probably eat it, most certainly if it has gravy. Yep.

Servings and Price breakdown-
Crazy Cuisine 13 for 13.99
Trader Joe’s 5 for 4.99
Pick Up Stix 2 for 8.95

Per serving breakdown:
Costco’s Crazy Cuisine $1.08
Trader Joe’s- $.99
Pick Up Stix- $4.78

None of us cared for the Pick Up Stix. It just didn’t taste as good as the other two, according to the girl, while the boy and I really, really don’t care for water chestnuts. I will point out his puny taste buds and that he also for swore the take out was too spicy. Wimp. I think he was just still mad that I went to the wrong take out place- apparently I mix up Panda Express and Pick Up Stix easily, so, oops.

Drum roll for the winners: 

The girl liked the Costco (because she likes white meat), the boy liked the Trader Joe’s (he prefers dark meat), I liked both so it is officially a tie. The husband didn’t get a vote since he wasn’t home yet and I wanted to put up today’s new thing on the blog. We will make him eat the leftover Pick Up Stix for lunch- that’ll teach him not to be home when we want to try something new!

Recipe Swap

While paying at Trader Joe’s, the cashier and I enjoyed swapping recipes made with TJ’s ingredients-

Mine-

Chicken Won Ton Soup

1 qt chicken broth; one beaten egg; 1/2 package TJ’s Chicken Cilantro Won Tons; 1 T soy sauce; 1/2 t sesame oil; sliced green onions. Bring broth to boil, and while stirring, drizzle in the beaten egg. Add the half package of wontons and simmer according to package directions. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil, and top with some sliced green onions.

Hers-

Parmesan Potato Casserole

1 bag frozen parmesan garlic potatoes; 1 jar Alfredo sauce; 1 bag shredded sharp cheddar

Whoops- all she told me were the ingredients so I had to make up the rest of the recipe… I layered the potatoes and the jar of sauce with about one cup of the cheese. That was it! She said don’t worry about having too much sauce, it will look like too much, and it did. It was. I’d add only half the jar, next time but I probably could have used more cheese.

I guessed on the time and temp- 45 min at 350, uncovered for the last 15 minutes, and served them with baked, seasoned chicken pieces and a side of simple, plain broccoli (to soak up the cheese sauce, yeah!).

NOT light on the calories… wow. File this under comfort food! I skipped dessert and will be eating lighter tomorrow for sure. BUT, everyone liked these potatoes, from the teens to the husband!

Anyone else have any sure-fire comfort food combinations that they love? I adore recipe swapping!